Meditation Keeps the Mind Clean Like a Mirror

Q – When is a good time to meditate and when you are meditating, what should you think about?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar - Meditate in the morning, afternoon, and evening, before food: before breakfast, lunch and dinner.

When thoughts come, normally what we try to do is chase them. The more you try to chase them, they become bigger and catch hold of you. When good thoughts come, we say, “come, come, come”. When bad thoughts come, we say, “go, go, go”. You need to be skilful. You should pray, “Ok, come”. Let them be there, give them a hug, and they disappear. They are more scared of you! So they run away. In the beginning, it helps and later you can do on your own.

Q - How is meditation important for disaster victims?

Sri Sri - Relief from trauma comes only through meditation. Counseling is only at the surface. The source of joy is deep within. Events are impermanent. You will not allow any event to stick on to the mind mirror. You are unfazed by events. Keep the mind clean like a mirror. That is what yoga and meditation are about. People not on the spiritual path never feel fulfilled.

Q – Guruji, once you talked about prana level. You said it is between 7 and 16 for human beings. How does one find out that they have the ideal count?

Sri Sri - All you have to do is increase your prana level. Pranayama, meditation – all these increase the prana level.

Q – According to Raja Yoga, it is said that practicing meditation is meant for people who are repulsive, and who follow a strict and estimate approach to reach salvation. Meditation is difficult for a person who has too many responsibilities. You said everyone should meditate. What are the implications of this on a normal person?

Sri Sri - There are different forms of yoga. Raja yoga is royal yoga. It is meant for people such as the kings and princes, or those who have many responsibilities. It enables them to do the practice in a short span of time. In some forms, a lot of time is required to do the practice. Meditation is useful for people from all walks of life.